The skid plate of a concrete or other saw performs three primary functions: it supports the saw as the skid plate skids across the surface to be cut, it acts as a blade guide, and it helps ensure a quality cut by the blade. When the skid plate wears, the quality of the cut made by the saw blade degrades.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,126, incorporated herein by this reference, proposes a glide plate assembly with a specially designed plate and a plastic overlay for the plate. The skid plate of the saw is removed and the new glide plate/overlay combination is installed on the saw. The primary focus of the '126 patent is minimizing the gap between the saw blade and the slot ultimately formed in the plastic overlay. In all embodiments, the overlay includes mounting flanges and at least a contoured leading mounting portion which conforms to the leading rounded mounting portion of the glide plate. Thus, although in one embodiment the overlay can be slid onto the specially designed glide plate, it cannot be clipped onto it. Moreover, the need for a specially designed replacement glide plate adds to the cost of the system. Finally, the leading edge of the overlay is straight which can result in debris between the overlay and the surface being cut and also marring or scratching of the surface.